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The Waterloo Chronucle is published eveny Wednesday by the hairway â€"Group owned by City Media Group Inc, a subsiciary of Jurstar ¢ orp The contert ud this paper is proterted by copyright arnd mas be used ortly for lpl'[\\)l\d\ nor. commerctal purpruises All other rights are reserved and commercial use is protrbited J â€" matke use of this material you must |first obtain the permission of the owner of the copyright editonak@waterloochronicle ca sports@@waterloochromcle.ca sales@waterloochronicle.ca composing@watertoochronicle.ca WATERLOO CHRONICLE | Isnr Bartel Mart Miller Special Projects Special Projects Manager 623.3050, Ext. 208 623.3050. Ext. 210 The Warerioo (hrorm e weloomes leriers in the Editor Thes should be signed with name. address and phone number and will he venified (nr acorracy Ne unsigned letters will be published: Submissiins may be edied for length. so please be brief Copyright in lerters and ather matenials submitted to the Publisher and accepted for puble atien remams with the author. but the pubbisher and its heensees may freeiy reprocuce them in pront. electromic or other forms Our mailing address is 279 Weber St. N Ueut 20 Waterioe NZL1P2 Phone: 886â€"28 30â€" Fax: 886â€"9383 The siews of our columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent those of the newspaper 279 Weber St., North, Suite 20 Waterloo, Ontario N2J 3H8 Rob Leuschiner _ Dwayne Weidendorf Group Publisher Group Sales Direcior/ Bob Zarrve ki Advertising Sales. Ext 222 Canaiian Publcations Mail Sates Prod uct Agreement Number Gerny Mattice Norma Cyca Retail Sales Advertising Manager, Ext. 230 Sales, Ext. 223 Andrea Bailes Bob Vrbanac Editor, Ext, 215 . Sports Editor, Ext. 229 40050478 inrernational Standard Senal Number ISSN 0832â€"3410 www waterloochronicle.ca Letters Policy > SK1i Audited wirculation 27.538 Associate Publisher Bill Prhurse Advertising Sales, Ext. 228 It‘s about time, some would say, as Waterloo residents tried to meet a demand to have a space where Lassie could run free on the cheap. And when the money finally ran out for the commitâ€" ted Dogerloo volunteers, who thanklessly ran the project without much support, no one could blame them for walking away from the headache. The lack of city commitment was telling from the beginning, leaving the volunteers to enforce rules, clean up the site and raise funds pretty much on their own. If Fido could talk, he‘d likely say how great a place Waterloo is today. Dog park gets a new ‘leash‘ on life he old saying is every dog has its day, and in Waterâ€" I loo that‘s finally true after council voted to float a financial lifeline to the leashâ€"free dog park formerly run by the Dogerloo group. There were even outâ€"ofâ€"towners who loved the size and location of a park that allows playful socialization for their pets. An extra dollar from each dog licence will now supâ€" port the park, in a userâ€"pay system that is both fair to the taxpayer and the dog owner. Finally some of the breaks the volunteers were hoping to get from the city, like help in clean up, may come through. It‘s said that you can tell how advanced a society is by the way it treats its animals. They couldn‘t catch a break and finally turned it over to the city to see if they would have any better luck at running the area. Chances are the park will have better support now that council has legitimized the funding for an enterprise that most locals with pooches appreciate. VIEWPOINT â€"EInmmnmtnuryh I‘m holiding out for a hero ceâ€"rink â€" icon _ Mark IMessier is getting a lot of attention this week after announcing his retirement from the NHL. Now I always give credit when it‘s due, and Messier has certainly made a name for himself as one of the league‘s shining stars of all time, clocking 25 years in his career. But to make him out to be a hero this week when at least a few hundred others are more deserving of the press and title doesn‘t sit well with me. And I‘m sure Lay‘s potato chips were never as popular as when Messier proclaimed that you can‘t eat just one. But in a week filled with days that have gone and will go down in history as times that called for true heroes, 1 think Messier‘s evolution from the ice rink to the golf course should take a back burner. Let‘s start with last week‘s deployment of three of Canada‘s warships, three Sea King helicopters and a Coast Guard vessel, bound for the Gulf of Mexico, and filled with aid and supplies for the victims of Hurricane Katrina, and now being dis tributed by some of this country‘s bravest soldiers who are glad to be helping those in need. So glad that many more are ready to board resupply flights to the hardestâ€"hit re Granted, Messier‘s done his fair share of charity work over the last quarter centuâ€" Fach year ceremonies are held to not only remember those who lost their lives that day but to honour the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to rescue the men, women and children trapped in the fiery remams of the World Trade Centre. gions of Louisiana and Mis sissippi. Members of many Canaâ€" dian police and fire depart ments still travel to New York City each year to pay homage to their colleagues‘ efforts efforts that defined strength and fortiâ€" tude for many of us Fastâ€"forward to this past Sunday, Sept. 11 â€" the fourâ€" year anniversary of the dasâ€" tardly terrorist attacks on the U.S. that killed more than 4,000 innocent people. And finally, arguably the truest testament to bravery this country has ever seen, or may ever see again, will be honoured this weekend in communities across the ANDREA BAILEY And while you‘re at it, get your priorities straight. So for those with a tear in your beer over the fact Mark Messier will no langer be coming to an arena near you, all I can say is have anather chip. Terry Fox laid the founâ€" dation of real valor when he dipped his artificial leg into the Atlantic Ocean on April 12, 1980, beginning his crossâ€"Canada Marathon of Hope run to raise money and awareness for cancer research. Fox succumbed to the very beast he was battling â€"â€" the cancer that took his leg had progressed to his lungs. and in June 1981 the 22â€" yearâ€"old lost the war â€" but not before raising more than $24 million for the cause. "Somewhere the hursting must stap," were words Fox repeated during his passage; thanks to his hard work and inspiration, that wish has come true for many cancer sufferers who‘ve fought and wan their fights. Knowing what many of us do about Fox, he‘d likely be the last ane claiming to be a hero. Yet that‘s exactly what he is to the tens of thousands of runners, walkers and bikers who hit the pavement every September in his hanour. nation, including here in Waterloo at Bechtel Park. His goal was to collect $1 from every Canadian; a feat that was met, despite his heartbreaking health relapse before he could complete his journey.